binds
by Cinnamon Swirll
Summary: "Sean Renard was nothing really, riffraff, a bastard with delusions of grandeur. But as he stood there clenching his fists and shaking with barely contained rage, she couldn't help but feel the royalty in him."


**Disclaimer: Grimm does not belong to me I'm just having a little fun with it. Also the concept of the first Grimm was taken from BtVS and belongs I guess to Josh Whedon. Though personally I never really liked it in Buffy and I think it works really well for Grimm. Last there are a few lines here and there that are also taken from Buffy. Brownie points to whoever spots them.**

**A/N:**

**The story takes off right after Woman in Black and gives an alternative way for Adlind's curse to be broken - No stupid amnesia or Juliet/Renard obsession. **

** I want to thank my bested Beta Anomalylady who mercilessly covered the story in her proverbial red ink and made it so much better than it originally was.**  
**Also thanks to Alikia whose great suggestions helped me stay away from some really awful mistakes.**

**Hope you guys enjoy reading this!**

The Shivers that were going up and down Adalind's spine were equal parts fear and awe. Sean Renard was nothing really, riffraff, a bastard with delusions of grandeur. But as he stood there clenching his fists and shaking with barely contained rage**,** she couldn't help but feel the royalty in him.

He had caught up with her at the bus stop, dragged her to his car and drove in silence all the way to his apartment.

Now they were here, facing each other in his living room.

"What did you do?" He demanded. "I told you Burkhardt was off limits!"

She could almost smell that annoyingly intoxicating blood that coursed through his veins. She knew that if she were still a Hexenbiest she wouldn't have been able to resist him for long and though she hated herself for it, just the memory of that power held sway over her. She couldn't ignore the Charm she knew was coming off him in waves.

"I didn't hurt him**.**" She said looking up at him, allowing herself a small smile.

She tensed as Sean advanced on her, though he stopped after a single step, hesitating. She watched him close his eyes and take a deep breath.

When he spoke again his voice was calm and she remembered how his calm made the Charming aura shimmering around him even stronger, "What spell did you use Adalind?"

She let out the breath she was holding, "He killed me!" She pleaded. "Worse than killed me. He took away who I am and left me with nothing. It would have been better had he killed me."

"Yes," Sean said evenly. "It would have been better but he didn't and now you've made a mess of things. What spell did you use?"

"L'esprit Ailleurs," she told him. "There is nothing you can do."

There was nothing Sean could do as there was no cure for the Spirit Elsewhere curse. "Damn it!" He yelled. This couldn't happen. He was so close; his relationship with Burkhardt was developing. Soon he could be aligned with a Grimm.

With a roar he let a frustration out and woged as he pounced on Adalind. She fought him at first but then realized violence was the way to a Zauberbiest's heart, things might still go her beat her; slapping her across the face, slamming her head into the end table. When he was done she was sporting long gashes across her cheek, an ugly bump on her head and the beginning of a black eye.

He pulled her up and she looked at him. "Feels good, doesn't it?" She asked. "To just let it out."

He growled dangerously but she went on, "I remember how good it felt. Do you really think you could deny yourself that forever? And if you don't, what will the Grimm do? Do you think he will still agree to work with you after he sees what you did to me? What you really are?"

Sean roared again pushing her away from him. He woged back to human and rubbed his aching fist. "You were leaving when I caught up with you, right? Alright, leave." He said, "Get out of Portland, get out of the U.S. and stay away."

"If I ever see you in my canton again Adalind, I will kill you." Then as he turned to open the door for her he added, "If you ever find yourself bowing to the royal families, begging for whatever scraps they'll throw you. Know that the downfall started here. Because of your petty vengeance**.**"

Sean took off his tie and jacket, mixed himself a drink and all but fell onto the couch. He hated that there was nothing he could do. His plan was perfect. He'd left nothing to chance but now it was all unraveling; Burkhardt's girlfriend was never gonna come out of that coma. Soon she would die.

Who knew what it will do to Nick… and if he found out it was Adalind… Being a Grimm; they were not exactly known for level headedness. Burkhardt might just run away from it all or worse go on a decapitation spree which would leave him useless.

Sean downed his drink and got up to fix himself another. There had to be something, he couldn't let it all go to hell because of that damn witch. That damn curse…

Something tickled at the back of his mind, something his mother once told him. They had been in Prague or was it Luxemburg? Some dingy apartment or other.

She'd told him every curse had a loophole, a way out. Every curse, which meant this one had to have one too.

He placed the empty glass on the end table, determined now; he made his way into his library.

The library was dark except for the soft lamplight by the sofa. Sean spent a few hours sitting at the desk until his back started to hurt, he then moved to the more comfortable couch. Now both the desk and the floor around the couch were covered in books. He had accumulated a nice number of Wesen histories, spell anthologies, and anything else remotely connected to Grimm or Royal lore.

His mother had told him over and over, "What will keep you safe is power. The way to gain power is by instilling fear in your enemies and respect in your friends. The way to do that is through knowledge."

xXx

_Even when they were running for their lives; when they owned nothing but the clothes on their backs and whatever they could stuff into backpacks fast enough to scurry to the temporary safety of the next rat hole, his mother was always on the lookout for knowledge. Drilling every Wesen they met for a family history, for any tales that might have been passed down and for any books that might have been forgotten in old attics or basements._

_She kept careful records of every story and sent the endless notebooks and books she acquired to storage._

"_For you__**,**_" _shetold him__**.**_ "_For when you grow up and are strong enough to take back what is rightfully yours__**.**_"

_And then they had gotten caught; the man who tracked them down, an old man, was a long-time employee of the family and a Grimm. He'd had a pack of Hundjagers with him, he had them beat his mother and he called her a whore before stabbing her through the back. As she fell to the ground bleeding and broken, there was a blinding flash of light and a yell for him to run. _

_He didn't know where the flash had come from or who yelled but he ran. He ran for a week. Stopping only when he fell from exhaustion. Living on whatever scraps he could steal. He was alone; a bastard child who was hunted like an animal by both the Wesen Council and the Royal family. _

_Then the woman showed up. _

_Regal in her light suit and matching heels. Commanding and powerful. She took him to a cafe, it was sunny and warm. She bought him a sandwich. Though he knew it was unseemly and demeaning he was so hungry he couldn't help but scarf it down like a starved mutt._

"_You see Erik," she told the pale four year old boy who sat at her side__**.**_ "_This is what happens to riffraff who think they are Royalty. They end up alone, dirty and smelly__**,**_ _dependent on the charity of those greater than them, but what can you expect from the bastard son of a Hexenbiest whore?"_

_Sean had looked up then, still chewing. His cheeks burning in shame, too defeated to say anything and after a second he looked down to his plate and stuffed the rest of the fries into his mouth._

"_You have a choice," the woman said when he was done. "For some idiotic reason the king refuses to have you killed, so you have a choice. You can stay here as my son's bastard half-brother or you can leave. Go somewhere far away."_

_From the tone of her voice Sean understood it was no choice at all. The woman would not stand for him living anywhere near her family. If he stayed his life would be miserable and likely cut short by some unfortunate accident or other. "Where would I go?" he asked._

_He hated his weakness. He hated the way the boy looked at him like something he scraped off his boot. But he was not yet fifteen. His mother was dead, he had never met his father. He had no family, no money, no future. This woman, his father's wife, was offering him a way out._

_She handed him an envelope. It contained a passport, money and a plane ticket. "This'll get you to Mexico." She said._

"_Mexico? What am I supposed to do there?" _

"_Nothing," her voice was cold. "Understand this boy, you will do nothing, you will be nothing. If I ever hear your name again, I will kill you. Is that clear?"_

_He bowed his head in defeat. The woman threw some bills on the table and got up to leave. "Oh I almost forgot; your mother sends her love. She very much hopes you will be a good obedient boy." _

"_My Maman?" Sean whispered but the woman had already gone and all he could do was watched her walk away holding her son's hand tightly. _

xXx

In his library Captain Renard rubbed his tired eyes and closed the book he was leafing through. Nothing. Dozens of books, hours of research and all he had to show for it was a mess and dark circles under his eyes.

Still determined though, he picked up the next book in the stack; it was in French. He read the title, "The History of King Diement."

According to the book; King Diement ruled the better part of Europe and Asia sometime during the second half of the first century. At first it was the usual pompousness of any other Royal history. `Benevolent King Diement ruled the people with an iron fist, keeping peace and prosperity.`

'Sure,' Sean though. 'Peace through fear and prosperity for himself no doubt.'

He continued reading, translating in his head as he went.

`No one dared challenge the mighty king for he had a Grimm who…`

Wait that wasn't right; the conjunctive verb describing the relationship was strange, suggesting a strong bond, close to ownership but mutual as if both the Grimm owned the king and the king owned the Grimm. Sure slavery was common back then, some said the Royal family owned slaves to this day but what Grimm would subjugate himself like that to a Royal?

There were always Grimms working for the Royal families but it was always an agreement between equals. Grimms were pretty much immune to the Royal Charm, and even if the Grimm was King Diement's slave why use the strange conjunction?

He read on hoping to find a description of how the Grimm came to be with the King and sure enough he was rewarded.

Very dramatically the book described a long and bloody war between three Royal families. The war cost the lives of hundreds and seemed endless until a man; Rorik Grimm approached King Diement offering chains of gold that were forged by Damonfeuers.

The Grimm agreed to be bound and in return the Royal bled for the Grimm.

After three months, Rorik Grimm stood taller than any man, stronger than a lion and quicker than a deer. He then killed every last member of the enemy families, finally bringing peace to the land.

Renard rubbed the stubble on his chin. This was very interesting. It reminded him of the old legend his nurse used to tell him when he was little, before Eric was born and his world shattered.

The legend told of a powerful Hexenbiest who brought forth seven Grimms, bound them to the seven mighty Patriarchs thus creating the seven Royal houses who brought peace to the land. This was the first time he came across any written evidence of that legend being true.

Could it be? And what was this bleeding? One man killing every member of two Royal families?

He was about to put the book away for further study later when the word 'Sleeping' jumped out at him.

He went back to the beginning of the paragraph and read about King Diement's daughter who had been sleeping for seven years. The best doctors, the most talented Hexenbiests, nothing and no one could wake her.

And then the King bid his Grimm, 'Wake my daughter.'

And the Grimm did.

Just like that.

Sean had the answer. Well, it was a glimmer of an answer. Somewhere to start from. It was time to talk to Nick. Sean was going to tell the Grimm that he was half Royal, half Zauberbiest and had been lying to him for the better part of a year.

He needed a drink. Unfortunately, it was too close to sunrise for anything stronger than coffee to be appropriate.

xXx

The hospital room was dim, quiet aside from the steady 'beep beep beep' of the monitoring machines.

Nick had spent the night tossing and turning on the uncomfortable couch next to Juliette's bed. He knew there was nothing he could do for her but after his mother had left he hadn't wanted to go back home.

His mother's words kept ringing in his ears. "It looks like L'esprit Ailleurs, there is no known cure."

He felt his cell phone buzz in his pocket. It was Captain Renard, what did he want at six thirty in the morning?

"Burkhart." He said into the phone.

"Nick?" The captain's voice was strained, "I'm sorry to be calling so early. How is Juliette?"

"There is no change"

"Um… Nick, there are some things we need to talk about."

"What type of things?" Nick asked cautiously he didn't like the sound of Renard's voice at all.

"Not over the phone it's… sensitive. Can we meet? The cafe on Main and Park?"

Nick looked at Juliete's still body. "Sure," he said. "I can be there in twenty minutes."

xXx

Renard chose a small table in the corner directly opposite the entrance and sat with his back to the wall. That meant he'd have a hard time escaping if Nick decided to go all decapitator on him but with his brother and the Verrat sending assassins to Portland, no one sneaking up on him took precedent. Besides, Nick wouldn't really try to take his head. He was sure of it… Almost sure.

Nick stepped into the café, Sean caught his eye and Nick made his way to the table. He moved the empty chair around so that his back wasn't exposed either.

"Nick." Captain Renard greeted the Grimm.

"Hi Captain." Nick answered.

Sean waved the waitress over, both of them ordered coffee and then the waitress left.

Nick looked at Renard expectantly but Renard found himself lost for words.

"You said we have something to talk about?" Nick prompted.

"Yes," Sean said. "I… I guess it's best to just show you." Then without warning he woged.

Nick was visually startled but he regained his composure quickly enough.

"You're a Zauberbiest" He said evenly. "And I guess you know what I am."

Sean nodded. "Technically, I'm half Zauberbiest."

"Half Zauberbiest…" Nick echoed. "And half?"

Sean raised an eyebrow at Nick, waiting for him to put the pieces together, he watched as the realization dawned on him. "The Royal in Portland, you're half Royal."

Sean nodded again slowly. "I'm sorry Nick, I didn't want to tell you like this, not so soon…"

Nick shook his head in disbelief. "So soon? How long did you know I was a Grimm? How long were you playing me? Watching me? All along working for the Royals?"

"No." Sean struggled to keep his voice low, "I am not working for the Royal family." The waitress returned with their coffee**s**. Nick drank it slowly trying to find the logic in all this. Trying to figure out what to ask next.

"Then what are you playing at, why didn't you tell me till now?" He asked.

Sean sighed. The elaborate tales and half-truths he had planned to tell the Grimm to get him on his side didn't seem appropriate at this point. Sometimes the simple truth is the best strategy. "I didn't trust you." He admitted

"You? Didn't trust me?"

"I didn't know you Nick, not really, not as a Grimm. I spent my life researching Wesen lore and Royal history. You have to understand, throughout history there were only two types of Grimms. There were the merciless killers, the ones who beheaded first and asked questions never and there were the ones who worked for Royalty."

And then because the truth could get you only so far Sean continued, "I knew you didn't work for any Royal family. They have very few ties in America and they would keep any Grimm who worked for them very close to home. You were doing good work on the force, good work that would be jeopardized if you killed a police captain. My career wouldn't really benefit from killing a detective either, and I like my head just where it is. So I resolved to keep my secret."

"You thought I would try to kill you, just because you're Wesen?"

Sean shrugged, "Yes. At first, then I saw signs of something different. Some of the Wesens you went after actually stayed alive to face trial. I started to think there might be something different about you, that maybe we could work together but by then too much time had passed, I couldn't just call you into my office and say 'Hey Nick great work on that case and by the way I'm a Zauberbiest'. It was easier to keep the status quo."

Nick drank the last of his coffee. Sean was happy to see the Grimm was getting used to the idea of his captain being Wesen, that he was letting his guard down just a little.

"So what changed?" Nick asked.

"My brother Erik, he sent three assassins after you in two weeks. Plus one to…" He paused looking for the word, "_talk_ to me. Erik is many things; he is arrogant, self centered, and a huge pain in the ass but he is not stupid and he is not wasteful. If he sent four Verrat agents to Portland he is planning something big and he needs you gone and me toeing the line for his plan to work."

Sean took a sip from his coffee and then continued. "Nick, Europe and Asia belong to the Royal houses but America is free of them. I can't let them take control here. The resistance in Europe is a joke and truth is, there is not much I can do against them on my own. I needed to take a leap of faith."

"You want me to help you fight the Royals?"

Sean nodded and then his cell phone rang. It was the burner phone he changed every two weeks. He pulled it out and looked at the number.

"I'm gonna take another leap of faith here Nick, this is my contact in the Palace, I asked him to look into something I found about L'esprit Ailleurs curse."

"What Juliette is suffering from?"

Sean nodded, "I want you to hear it." He answered the phone on speaker.

"Sebastian?" he asked.

"Oui," Came the familiar voice in French. "Pouvez vous parler?" Sebastian asked as was his custom.

"Yes I can talk" Sean said in English. "You are on speaker and there is," he paused looking at Nick debating what term to use, "an ally here as well." He said at last and glanced again at the Grimm. He was satisfied to see his choice of words was correct. "What did you find?"

Sebastian switched to his heavily accented English. "I could not find anything about any binding but I found the bleeding ritual, I sent you the relevant information. Sean, there were no details about the purpose of the ritual. What are you doing?"

Renard looked at Nick over the phone on the table**.** "I am sorry Sebastian, but the less you know the better."

"Be careful Sean**.**"

"Thank you and you too." He disconnected the call and looked up at Nick.

"Is that the ritual that can cure Juliette?" The Grimm asked with a glimmer of hope.

"It's one of them." Sean answered**.** "First there is a binding spell you and I need to perform, then I need to do the bleeding ritual Sebastian sent and then Juliette should wake up, in theory at least."

"What's the first ritual, the binding?" Nick asked.

"I don't know." Sean picked up his coffee cup but it was empty. "There is an old folk tale Hexenbiests tell their children; of a powerful sorceress who bound seven Grimms to seven Royal houses and divided the land between them finally bringing peace to the world. I never thought it was anything more than a fairy tale but then I found reference of it in conjunction with a cure to the curse. I researched it and found it mentioned in several places but no exact instructions. The first to perform it or at least the oldest reference I can find is a Grimm named Rorik sometime around 1000 AD ever heard of him?"

Nick shook his head. "No, but I can do some research and ask some friends."

The captain saw that now that there was something Nick could do, he was itching to do it. So instead of inquiring further into this research and friends of Nick's he put some bills on the table.

"Ok," he said**.** "I have to get to work. You'll let me know when you find something?"

Nick nodded. "Captain?" He said before leaving, "Thank you."

Sean Renard smiled. "Anything I can do for the cause." He said simply, leaving Nick to figure out what cause he was referring to.

xXx

Sean had a long day full of long and tedious meetings with tedious politicians and higher brass. He was going to have to find a way to cut 10000$ off their budget next year. Those long meetings had paid off somewhat though as at the beginning of the day it was a 50000$ cut.

Nick called him late afternoon to report he had found nothing. Sean told him he still had some places to look so he shouldn't give up just yet.

Truth was he didn't have that many places left to look but somehow in the past sleepless 24 hours, finding a cure for Nick Burkhardt's girlfriend had become very important. Not only would it go towards gaining the Grimms' trust but Nick would no doubt feel indebted to if what he read was true it would give Nick powers beyond imagining. Enough power to keep Sean's home free of the Royal houses. Enough power perhaps to bring them down once and for all.

So after showering and changing into a t-shirt and sweat pants he made himself a pot of coffee and prepared for another long night of research. He would go through every book in his library if that's what it took. He didn't let himself think about the possibility of the answer not being in the library at all.

Four cups of coffee, six hours and dozens of books later, all Sean could be certain of was that if they ever found out what the damn ritual was; they'd need a Damonfeuer to forge them some golden rings. He had only found two more references to Grimms being bound and it always involved a Damonfeuer and gold rings.

There had to be more here in one of these books. There had to be more because anything would be more than what he knew. Anything would be more than five golden rings.

"Damn it." Sean cursed his own stupidity. "Not the books."

If it wasn't in the books and both his and Nick's futile research indicated it was not. It had to have been passed on orally and if it did pass down as a family story it was in one of his mother's notebooks and he knew just the one.

xXx

_It had been six weeks since the Crown Prince's birth had forced Sean and his mother to leave their home in Vienna to escape the Verrat assassins the queen had sent after him. A bastard child had no legal claim to the throne and posed very little threat but if he grew to adulthood he could technically challenge the Crown Prince and would then have the right to call a Council and present them with an alternative to the Crown. It was all very complicated and the new Crown Prince's mother found it easier to simply kill the bastard now than have to deal with the legalities down the line. _

_Sean returned from town with a bag full of groceries, a six year old kid and his mom. He knew the last thing they need while running from the Royal family and the Verrat was a helpless woman and her child but they had relied on the kindness of strangers so often in the past weeks. It felt good to help others for a change. _

_Sean had noticed the kid watching him as he pickpocketed people in the square and recognized that look in the boy's eyes. He would never have recognized it if it wasn't for that day in late October when his maman had barged into Mr. Lartigue's Latin class and tore him away from everything he knew. Now he sees that look often when he catches a glimpse of his own eyes; fear and hunger._

_So Sean had went up to the boy and offered him half of the candy bar he`d bought for himself. He told him that levitating the money out of people's pockets was magic. The kid didn't buy it though. "That's not magic, it's just something Zauberbiests can do." He said in German accented English "Like I'll be able to breathe fire when I grow up into a Damonfeuer." _

"_A Damonfeuer?" Sean followed suit and switched to his French laced English._

"_Yah, that's my mom there, dancing." _

_Sean watched the fire dancer who was the cause of the crowed he had found so convenient. She was wearing an orange and black dancing costume that had known better days and was twirling and swirling with a long lace ribbon that was on fire._

_When the show was over, the woman picked up the coins which had been thrown her way before going to collect her son. Sean was horrified at how tired and defeated she looked. He swore right there that his own mother would never look like that._

"_My Maman and I, we found a place to stay." He had told her after introductions were made. "An abandoned shack on a field outside of town, it's not much but it's a roof and there is room if you'd like to join us. There'll be food too." He added, indicating to the shopping bag in his hand._

_She hesitated looking at Sean then at her son's hopeful face._

"_Alright." she said at last and the three of them walked together in silence._

_Sean did not dare ask them what they were running from for fear he would have to share their reasons as well._

"_Maman?" He called out when they reached the end of the field._

"_I'm here Sean," she was out behind the shed by a fire she had built._

"_I brought some guests." Sean said._

_He watched as his Maman looked the woman up and down; assessing her, then she glanced at her son._

"_This is Madam Miesner and her son Martin, I met them in town." _

_The two women shared a look that Sean did not understand and then his Mother said, "Welcome Madam Miesner, I am Endorah. Please, come join us. Sean has brought us dinner and by the looks of it there is more than enough."_

"_Call me Mariah." _

_They sat together and ate, and then the two women put their children to bed. _

_Sean laid awake for a long time listening to his Maman converse quietly with Madam Miesner. The two women shared a lot that night and Sean was glad his Maman had someone to talk to. _

_Sean was startled awake early the next morning by someone's scream. _

_He laid still, confused and then heard a woman's scream again._

_He scrambled out of his covers and raced outside where he saw his mother and Madam Miesner being held at gunpoint by a slight man in a suit._

_The Verrat had found them._

"_No!" he yelled and ran at the man. They collided and landed hard on the ground but the man still had his gun and he pointed it at Sean._

"_Like I was telling your mother; I have no business with you boy."_

"_What?" Sean climbed slowly to his feet. "But you are Verrat."_

_The man climbed to his feet as well, keeping his gun leveled at the boy._

"_My name is Alexander De-Groot, I am an agent of the Wesen Council. I am here to apprehend Madam Mariah Miesner and bring her to face trial for crimes against the Wesen world."_

"_What crimes?" Sean's mother asked struggling to keep her voice calm. It was clear she really wanted to attack the man who was holding a gun to her son but there were repercussions to assaulting Council agents and they already had one top secret military organization after them she did not need another one._

"_Madam Meisner has broken the Gesetzbuch Ehrenkodex" De-Groot said._

_Sean gasped. You never show yourself to a Kehrseite, never. _

_Everyone seemed to be looking at Mariah Miesner then and she was looking at her little boy who had also woken up and found his way outside._

"_I had to do it," she said quietly, defeated now. "He had my son. He would have killed him had I not done what he wanted"_

"_Yes, Mr. Nimitz the Lowen." Said De-Groot "We dealt with him but that doesn't change what you did. Madam, if you will come with me calmly I will spare everyone else here."_

_De-Groot put out his hand gingerly and when no one moved he added, "I will also forget there was anyone else here with you."_

_Mariah looked from De-Groot to her little boy then up at Sean's Mother. "Endorah I know this is a lot I am asking but will you take my son? Keep him safe?"_

"_You know he won't be safe with me Mariah" Endorah said._

"_But there is no one else and he is just a boy, he cannot live on his own. Please Endorah."_

_The adults were so focused on the moment they seemed to have forgotten Sean was still standing just a few feet from De-Groot. _

_Something strange was happening to him. A feeling he had never felt before. Knowledge deep within his being that his will was strongest. That what he pleases would prevail. _

"_No." He said. He did not shout, his voice was barely over a whisper but the three adult Wesen in the clearing froze and looked at him like he was a bomb about to explode._

"_Bloody hell!" De-Groot cursed, instantly recognizing the power crackling around Sean for the Royal Charm that it was. As he was not prepared for the Charm it overtook him so that __**it**_ _was the last coherent thought in his mind._

"_You will not take this woman anywhere." Sean was saying, his words flooding De-Groot's mind were the only thing that mattered. "You will return to the Council and report that the matter for which you were sent was dealt with and is done."_

"_Yes." De-Groot said. He turned and left and that was it._

_Sean closed his eyes feeling empty and weak. He couldn't keep his balance. He fell and the world turned black._

_xXx_

_Sean opened his eyes to see the blurry face of his mother slowly growing into focus._

"_Maman?" he rasped as his mouth was dry._

"_Sean? Oh Sean!" His mother cried and pulled him up into a tight hug. "You must never do that again."_

"_Do what? Maman? What did I do?"_

_His mother released him for her grasped and put both hands on his shoulders. "You were unconscious for three days Sean." She said looking him in the eye. "The Royal Charm must be used quietly; you're will must be only a whisper in the mind. Yelling like you did... It leaves you empty. It can kill you Sean."_

"_What? Maman, I don't understand."_

_But there was nothing more his Maman could tell him. She wasn't Royal, all she knew about the Royal Charm was the few things that had been chronicled in the books she was able to put her hands on and that was very little. Besides this was not the time. They had already stayed here too long._

_By the next morning Mariah, Martin, Sean and Endorah were all packed and ready to go back on the road. They had decided to part ways. Mariah and Martin were headed to Hungary while Sean and his mother could not leave the country. The Royal family owned the borders._

_As they were saying their goodbyes Mariah pulled a purple velvet satchel out of her pack._

"_Sean," she said. "My great grandfather was an expert goldsmith, he made this with his own breath and passed it down to his son who passed it to my mother who gave it to me. She told me that it was made for one of Royalty, that if I ever met a Royal who is worthy I am to give it to him. I never thought I would but Sean, you are kind hearted and brave."_

_She handed him the satchel. Inside were five large golden rings. _

"_What are they?" he asked._

"_They are binding rings." She told him._

xXx

Rosalie stood behind the counter in her shop. She felt safe there and she needed any safety she could get. Nick had called her just an hour ago with a truck load of information she had not even begun to absorb. His captain, Sean Renard, was a member of the Royal family and half Zauberbiest. He had found a ritual that might cure Juliette and they were coming over to perform it in her shop.

She tried to worn Nick, tried to get him to understand how dangerous the Royals are.

"Nick," she'd pleaded, "we have to slow down, we don't know this Sean Renard. We don't know what these rituals will really do. He is Royal Nick. For all we know he is the one that put the curse on Juliet in the first place"

"We know who put the curse on Juliette. It wasn't Renard. It was that Hexenbiest; Adalind Shade, I was at her apartment yesterday and it was empty. She did it as payback for what I did to her and then skipped town. And I know Renard. He has been my captain for three years. He never gave me any reason to doubt him"

"He has been lying to you for three years too."

"He explained that. He's Wesen Rosalie, how many Wesens do you know would voluntarily come up to a Grimm and say, 'Hi I'm Wesen, it's nice to meet you?

Listen Rosalie, I know this is hard for you but this is Juliette were talking about. There is nothing else we can do."

So she agreed. She invited the Grimm and the Royal to perform their ritual in her shop. Of course she agreed, like Nick said; there was nothing else they could do. But she was not stupid so she stayed behind her counter and had her gun loaded and ready. Just in case.

Nick and Monroe were the first to arrive. Thank god for little favors, she didn't know what she would've done if she'd had to stay in one room alone with a Royal. She looked at Monroe, silently asking if he was able to convince Nick to postpone the ritual. He shook his head, no luck.

They waited in tense silence for a few minutes and then Sean Renard came in.

He took in the scene and she noted him tense a little at Monroe's presence. Did he know Monroe was a Blutbad?

"Hi Captain," Nick said "This is Monroe, and this is Rosalie. They agreed to help."

"Thank you" Sean said.

Rosalie could smell the Royalty coming off him in waves. She heard Royals could mask their scent but it seemed he had not bothered to do so now. Rosalie had to resist the urge to woge. This man was a Royal. He represented everything her father fought against. Everything he had died trying to destroy and here she was helping one.

"Let's get on with it." She couldn't keep the sharpness out of her voice.

Both Nick and Monroe looked at her surprised. Ironically Renard seemed to understand.

"Alright," Sean said getting down to business. "We need to perform two rituals, first a binding between Nick and myself than the second one which is supposed to give Nick the power to wake Juliet"

He took five large rings out of his breast pocket, placed them on the counter and explained. "These are made of gold forged by a Damonfeuer. Nick you have to put them on; first two on your legs than two on your hands and the last one around your neck."

"Then what?" Nick asked.

"I… don't know." Sean admitted.

"You don't know? What do you mean?" Rosalie demanded a little too fiercely.

Sean sighed. "There is no organized documentation, just pieces here and there; stories that have been told and retold, so who knows what is truth and what is poetic license? If I had more time, greater resources, I could probably get a better idea of what we are doing but I am afraid I don't have that luxury. My brother has sent four assassins, already he is upping the stakes. We are running out of time, we just have to do it."

Nick nodded and before anyone could say anything further, he took the first two rings and slipped them around his ankles, first the right then the left securing them tightly.

They all waited but nothing happened.

Nick took the next two rings and secured them around his wrists. Then the final one around his neck.

They all waited in tense silence but still nothing happened.

"Is it broken?" Monroe asked at last.

"What do we do now?" Nick asked looking uncomfortable with all the gold adorning his body.

Renard shook his head a little. "I told you I don't know. I had hoped..." At the sound of his voice the rings started to glow. Brighter and brighter, tighter and tighter around Nick. Embedding themselves in his skin. Then there was a flash so bright it blinded everyone in the room.

When Rosalie's eyesight returned, she could barely make out Nick and Renard in the center of a burning white flame. Nick was kneeling his head was bowed and Renard was standing over him. They were talking but Rosalie could not hear what they were saying.

Everything took only seconds and then it was over. Monroe, who had woged at some point, returned to his human form. Renard was helping Nick to his feet and Rosalie seeing The Royalty in Renard so clearly realized she has also woged and quickly returned back to human, feeling self-conscious.

"What happened?" Monroe asked.

Nick glanced at the captain and then said simply, "The binding."

Renard made his way to Rosalie's counter and handed her a computer printout. "We have to do the second ritual now."

She glanced at the paper and gasped. "It says here two months but even over that long it will be dangerous."

"We don't have two months" Renard insisted. "I don't know how long Juliette has and my brother is planning something. He will do it soon. We need to get this done."

"But…"

Renard cut her short. "Nick, you can't be here for the bleeding ritual."

"There is no way I am leaving" Nick said.

"You can't be here, it's part of the ritual." Renard looked at the Grimm "Nick, I'll be fine."

Then on second though he said, "Monroe, you'd better go with Nick. I don't know what the ritual will do to him."

Monroe looked from Sean to Nick to Rosalie. It was clear he did not want to leave her alone with the Royal but he didn't want to leave Nick alone and in danger and he definitely was not comfortable taking orders from Sean Renard.

Rosalie looked at the paper detailing the ritual. She understood why Renard wouldn't want a Blutbad present. That much blood, Monroe would have a very hard time resisting his urges.

"I'll be fine." She told him. "Go with Nick."

Monroe nodded, "Call if anything happens."

"You too." she said.

She watched the Grimm take one last look at Renard before leaving with Monroe.

She was alone with the Royal.

She looked down at the printed page again. It was very simple as far as rituals went. No incantations, no exotic herbs. All they needed was a container big enough to hold the blood and a knife.

"This is primal magic" she said. "Ancient, from before they started using conduits."

Renard nodded.

"You'll lose too much blood. You'll die."

Renard nodded again but didn't say anything.

"That's why you needed me here. You need me to continue cutting, even after you lose consciousness."

Again all she got was a node and more silence.

"Why are you doing this?" She asked at last.

Renard sighed, "Nick is not like any other Grimm I have ever met or heard of and if this works he will be the strongest Grimm in 2000 years. He'll be strong enough to hold the Royal houses at bay. I think he'll even be strong enough to rid the world of Royalty once and for all. That is something worth dying for."

He waited a beat and then in a business like voice said, "We're gonna need something big enough for me to lay down in"

He looked at her, she understood him and though it went against everything she knew, everything Renard himself was fighting for. Though she couldn't know how much of it was her and how much was the Royal Charm she woged bowed her head and said, "Yes majesty."

He seemed surprised and raised a quizzical eyebrow at her. Then he smiled a little and bowed his head acknowledging her gesture.

"I have something that'll work," she said. She went out from behind the counter and into the storage room to get the ornamented tub that had been lying there forever. She didn't know why her brother had had it or why she had never thrown it out but it would be perfect for Renard to bleed out in.

When she returned dragging it behind her Renard had already stripped down to his boxers. He looked oddly vulnerable standing there almost naked, a little stooped with a small dagger in his hand.

"I studied the diagram," he told her. "I'll do as many of the cuts as I can but if I can't continue…"

Rosalie studied the printed pages on the counter. "We can't do it" she said.

"Look Ms. Calvert" Renard sounded frustrated. He walked over to her. "I understand your misgivings but I know the risks and I am willing to take them."

"I mean technically," She looked up at him; he was close and very under dressed. "It's not gonna work… Physically" she blushed and looked down at the pages, away from Renard's chest. "This was meant to be done over the course of several weeks. Giving the body a time to recover and build up its blood supply. There simply isn't enough blood in the human body to perform the whole ritual at one time".

Sean turned away from her. "We can't do it on schedule, it'll be too late. Juliette'll die and Erik… Who knows what he will do in 12 weeks."

Rosalie bit her lip, "I have an idea, I don't know if it'll work, if the spell will accept it but…"

"Whatever it is Ms. Calvert, do it." Sean said.

Rosalie glanced at Renard. "Call me Rosalie"

"What?"

"I will very likely be killing you soon so I think it would be fine if we were on a first name basis." She explained.

"Oh, alright."

Rosalie pulled out her phone and searched for the contact she knew would have bags of blood neatly stacked in his refrigerator.

"Roni?" She said into the phone when the Giere answered. "It's Rosalie, remember when I paid off that Konigschlange whose Jay you stole? You said you owed me one, well it's time to pay up."

The Giere was very reluctant to help and even tried to convince Rosalie that he didn't have any blood but he came around when she threatened to tell Nick the Grimm about his little operation stealing blood from clinics all over Portland.

"Alright, Alright, Rosalie," Roni whined. "I'll bring you everything I have, I'll even give you the friends discount."

Rosalie rolled her eyes. "I am not paying you a dime Roni. You still owe me the 700 dollars I gave the Konigschlange."

When Rosalie pocketed her phone she noticed Renard looking at her quizzically. "You know some interesting people." He pointed out.

She shrugged "Comes in handy doesn't it?"

xXx

After Roni the Giere had delivered his bags of blood and left, Sean climbed into the tub. It wasn't big enough for him to stretch out in but he got as comfortable as possible and then made the first cut.

A straight line down from collar bone to navel. He made sure to make it shallow. He was willing to give his life but if there was a chance of survival he wasn't going to miss it.

Clenching his teeth against the pain, he made three more incisions. The first went diagonally across his chest then two more; one on each one of his upper thighs. He laid back waiting to the proper amount of blood to drain from his body.

A few minutes passed in silence, the blood pooling around him.

"You can do the next round now." Rosalie said softly.

Renard struggled into a sitting position and cut long lines up both his legs, then down his arms. He allowed himself some stifled grunts of pain but not more than that.

They waited in silence and the Sean started on round three.

He had already lost a lot of blood -which was the point- and he was going to lose a lot more before it was done but she could see by the way his cuts were unsteady that it was already making him disoriented. They were only in round three. They had eight more to go.

She decided to hook up the transfusion before Sean started the next round but then realized something.

"Shit." she muttered. She didn't have an IV.

_Before Rosalie's father left to Europe for the mission he never came back from he went into her room and gave her a note with a phone number on it. "Do you remember Tessa Acker?" He asked her. "She was your pediatrician when you were little?" _

_Rosalie didn't remember the Doctor._

"_She lives in Portland, if you ever need any help call her."_

_Rosalie took the note and said goodbye to her father._

_She had called Tessa Acker once before, eight years ago when she got out of prison and was finally ready to clean up her act. Tessa had helped her get clean and move to Seattle. _

Rosalie was desperate and she couldn't think of anyone else to call. She pulled out her cell phone and frantically went through her contacts. She finally found what she was looking for and hit the button.

"Hello?" Came the voice on the other side of the phone.

"This is Rosalie Calvert, George's daughter?"

"Rosalie? Is everything alright?"

"Actually no," Rosalie said. "I need your help"

In the tub Renard was starting round four, grunting in pain as he made another cut and another. He was getting very pale and his breathing was labored and shallow.

Rosalie kneeled by the tub. There was so much blood. Sean started another incision but then his hand failed and the knife dropped.

Rosalie picked up the knife, it was slippery and warm to the touch, she put the diagram detailing the incision order on the floor in front of her and went on cutting.

When round four was over she was crying and shaking but no less determined. She felt for a pulse, Sean's skin was cold and clammy. She got a pulse, rapid and very weak but still there.

She stayed by the tub keeping one hand on Renard's pulse, holding the knife in the other watching the blood continue to flow from the dozens of wounds.

It was time to start round five when the door flew open and in came the elderly lady in jeans and a sweater carrying a side bag she hoped was full of medical supplies.

"Rosalie?" Tessa took in the scene, "What is going on here? Rosalie, what are you involved in now?"

Rosalie realized she'd forgotten to lock the door. That was not good.

"Tessa, please lock the door." It came out sounding a lot calmer the she felt.

Tessa pierced her with a look then went and locked the door.

"There is no time to explain, I swear Tessa this is for a good cause please, I need to get an IV in him before he bleeds out."

Tessa closed her eyes for a beat. "You look so much like your father." she said with a sigh, kneeling down by the tub to set up the IVs.

Blood rushed into Sean's body unfortunately it rushed out just as fast.

xXx

Monroe was sitting on the couch.

Nick was pacing. "Nothing's happening." He said, just like he had said five minutes ago and five minutes before that. He continued pacing occasionally saying nothing was happening until… Something started happening.

"Do you hear that?" Nick asked.

"Hear what?"

"Something like…" Nick followed the sound to the kitchen where he saw a spider scurrying across the floor.

"You heard the spider?" Monroe asked.

Nick shrugged.

xXx

Rosalie and Tessa got into a rhythm; Tessa monitoring Sean's vitals andchanging the blood bags when they became empty, while Rosalie kept cutting and making sure the cuts stayed open. It was gruesome work but after a while they forgot how terrible it was and just did it mechanically.

Sean slipped in and out of consciousness. Amazingly they lost his pulse only once. Rosalie had to stop mid cut so that Tessa could perform CPR and bring Sean back.

"One more round." Rosalie said quietly.

Tessa's only reply was an acknowledging hmm and Sean was unconscious.

She did what she had to do. They were smaller cuts now, mostly on his hands and feet and then she was done.

She glanced at the diagram and the accompanying instructions to make sure there was nothing else that needed to be done and there wasn't.

"That's it." She said, sitting down hard on the floor.

xXx

Juliette gasped and opened her eyes. She was panting, though she didn't know why. There was darkness and the strong smell of greenery. Her vision was blurry and she blinked a few times to clear it. She looked around. She was in a forest but nothing like the woods outside of Portland. This forest was dark and crowded. The trees old and gnarled and it was silent like the woods back home never were.

She jumped and looked around her, turning in place. She was in a small clearing and she has been running. Something was after her. She didn't know what or why, but she knew he was out there somewhere in the forest tracking her and he must not catch her.

She started running and it was as if the forest itself conspired to slow her down. Old roots kept popping out of the ground to trip her, branches kept scratching her as she ran past them. She ran for a long time, as long as she could, her lungs were burning, her feet aching and there was a stitch in her side. She all but crashed against a large black barked tree and slid down to the ground. It was damp and alive with a million different kinds of insects.

She knew with startling clarity that whatever she was running from was going to catch her. He was going to catch her and he was going to kill her but she just couldn't run any further. So she sat panting against the large tree and waited for him.

She didn't know how much time passed, it couldn't have been long as her heart was still racing and there he was. A man, tall with long scraggly hair and black eyes like endless empty barrels. He was wearing torn and tattered pieces of cloths. It was impossible to guess his age.

Silently he advanced on her, creeping almost like an animal. She scrambled to her feet.

"Wait, please," she pleaded. "Who are you? Why are you doing this?"

The man's voice was raspy as if he didn't use it often. "I am the blood cry, the penetrating wound…" She gasped as he knocked her down and stood towering over her. She looked up and between the foliage she could see the stars...

xXx

Monroe hated hospitals. The antiseptic smell wreaked havoc on his sinuses and the other smells; pain, blood, and despair he knew they would stay with him long after he left the hospital building. And the uncomfortable truth was that they excited him in ways he did not want to be excited. Not to mention last time he was in this very hospital he chewed a guy's arm off. He hurried down the hall after Nick. They turned into Juliet's room.

There was an emptiness about Juliette's room that unsettled Monroe. Her still form on the bed lacked presence and had it not been for the thrumming noise of the monitors along with the fact that he could physically see her, Monroe would have sworn that the room was devoid of life.

Nick rushed to her bedside and took her limp hand in his, "Juliette?" He asked.

Nothing happened. It was unclear as to what exactly was supposed to happen once Renard completed the ritual. How would Juliet wake up? Was Nick supposed to do something?

"Juliette?" He tried again, desperation growing in his voice.

She opened her eyes but they were a strange watery blue and Nick could see that she wasn't really with him.

"I am naming the stars," she said, "but I've named them all the same name and there is terrible confusion. I fear there will be a dual."

Then she closed her eyes.

"Juliette?" Nick called. "Juliette! Wake up! Juliette!"

But it was no use; Juliette laid still in her bed, only the beeping machinery indicating that she was still alive.

xXx

Prince Erik sat at his desk going over the list his secretary had prepared. Making sure nothing was missing. Sebastian who had entered the room a few minutes ago waited silently to be acknowledged. Even after all this time he had to consciously stop his hands from shaking when he was in the same room as Erik. At this point he knew it would never get any easier.

"You will leave day after tomorrow." The Prince ordered.

Sebastian was being sent to Worlick Castel high up in the Alps. He was to prepare the uninhabited place to make sure it would be ready for a gathering. He was not told who would be staying at the castle or why. And he dared not ask.

"Yes Majesty." He said bowing his head slightly.

Eric gave an impatient wave to dismiss Sebastian who was more than relieved to go.

He stepped out of the room and into the hall to see the two Hundjager guards in full woge facing a Zauberbiest. "What is this?"

The Zauberbiest returned his face to human. "I need an audience with the Prince," he said urgently.

"Who are you?" Sebastian asked wearily.

The man looked a little hysterical, brandishing a book at Sebastian. "My name is Michael Pech, I discovered something of utmost importance. Prince Eric needs to know about this."

Sebastian recognized the booklet as the one he'd found the bleeding ritual for Renard in. "What is this about?"

"It is about Portland." The man said. "And I will say no more until I can see the Prince."

Sebastian's mind was reeling; how was he going to get out of this? What had this Michael Pech find out? Before he had a chance to react the doors opened and Prince Eric stood in the doorway. "What is all this ruckus?" He demanded.

The Hundjagers quickly woged back to human and returned to their post by the door. The man seemed dumbstruck by the sudden appearance of Royalty; like he was about to fall to his knees and pledge his dying breath to Eric. The Royal charm could have that effect on a Wesen if the Wesen was not prepared for it. So it was left to Sebastian to explain the situation before Eric decided to have them all killed just for annoying him.

"This Zauberbiest demands an audience." He said choosing his words carefully. His aim was to alienate the man without seeming too obvious.

"Demands, does he?" Eric inquired dangerously, taking the bait.

"He claims to have found something of utmost importance you must know." Sebastian continued.

Eric turned to the trembling man, "Out with it then. What must I know?"

If it wasn't for the very real possibility of this man destroying a very large part of everything they had worked for Sebastian would have felt sorry for him. He turned a quite deep shade of red and did his best to stammer out an explanation but all he managed was, "I… I cast a spell… A trace… On Portland… Alarms…" And then he fell quite. Panting softly.

The Prince however heard the word Portland and got intrigued. "Help the man collect his faculties, Sebastian." He ordered. "Make sure he can compose a coherent sentence and then bring him to me."

Sebastian nodded and the Prince returned to his office.

Sebastian put a steadying hand on the man's shoulder. "Get a grip. Breathe in, breathe out."

"I… I had no idea." The man stammered after a moment.

Sebastian closed his eyes wearily. "You get used to it after a while and when you know to be prepared for it, it doesn't hit you as bad." And if you have enough incentive and practice you can even learn to disregard his wishes if not actively disobey him but Sebastian didn't say that of course.

He looked at the man he seemed to have calmed down. "Michael right?"

Michael nodded slowly.

"Tell me what you want to tell the Prince, it will help you get your thoughts in order and you will be less likely to annoy him with stammering and gibberish." And might allow Sebastian to worn Sean before he was put to death.

Michael nodded again. "I put a spell to monitor magical currents in Portland. They were set to go off if there were any unusual activities." He explained.

"Why?" Sebastian asked.

"I was looking for a way to get in the Prince's good grace and heard he was interested in the town."

Sebastian nodded in understanding. "Go on."

"A few hours ago the alarms I set up on Portland went off very strongly. The magical patterns I saw were like nothing I've seen before. There was no origin, no destination; just a buildup of more and more power."

Michael looked at Sebastian to see if he knew what any of it meant, when he saw the blank look on Sebastian's face he elaborated. "When working magic you always use a conduit, herbs, candles, words -something to focus the energy to give it purpose- before this was done the wild energy was almost impossible to control. But this, there was no conduit which meant it was extremely ancient and primal magic. By the looks of it, it involved one of Royal blood and a Grimm." He opened the booklet and paged through it. "I remembered this ritual," he said indicating the bleeding ritual depicted on the page. "It matches the patterns I saw but I don't know what purpose it serves." Michael took a deep breath and looked at Sebastian. "Whatever this is. It's something important."

Sebastian bit his lip. He didn't know what game Sean was playing with these spells. Sebastian was decidedly uncomfortable with all of this. However nothing this man was going to say put any of their work in immediate danger. It was best that Eric had no inkling of the activities in Portland and his knowledge would probably complicate things for Sean but there was no avoiding it. The best he could do was warn him as soon as he had a chance. With that decision made he nodded to Michael. "You will tell all this to the Prince now." He said gently.

Michael swallowed hard and nodded.

Sebastian knocked softly and then entered the room, ushering the Zauberbiest in with him.

Michael was able to explain it all with only minimal stammering. When he was done he stood transfixed with his head bowed, not daring to look at the Prince. Sebastian noted that Michael was not able to keep the tremors out of his hands.

"How can I find out what this spell does?" Eric asked.

"I… I don't know," Michael glanced up carefully, "perhaps if I was closer to the casting grounds…"

"You mean if you were in Portland?"

"Yes."

"Alright." Eric turned to Sebastian. "Make the arrangements for Mr. …" He paused when the name eluded him.

"Pech," Sebastian supplied.

"Make the arrangements for Mr. Pech to fly to Portland as soon as possible, and have Marnassier escort him just in case."

xXx

Nick sat on the uncomfortable chair in the hall halfway between Juliette's room and the Captain's. He'd almost reached the last page of the notebook he was sketching in. The Doctors had assured him that Juliette's brief return to consciousness was a good sign. That it was common for patients to come out and go back under a few times before fully waking but it had been almost a day and a half and there had been no change at all.

The Captain was stable. He was suffering severe Tachycardia when he arrived at the hospital but the doctors were able to lower his heart rate enough. They then worked on him for a long time suturing the many cuts he had and administered a transfusion. They expected him to wake up, his vitals were normal, but the Captain remained unconscious.

Now there were two people unconscious because of Nick and there was nothing he could do to save them. He sat for a long time nervous and restless and needing something to do. Somehow he got his hands on a sketching pad and a pencil. Sketching helped him think and calm his nerves. slowly but steadily the pad was being filled with drawings. Nothing important; just random Wesen and a few of Juliette lying in her hospital bed.

Outside the hospital Nick knew there was a major manhunt going on. The whole police force was on the case trying to track down the men that almost killed their Captain. There was very little to go on. Only an anonymous call from a payphone informing the operator of a man lying on the street bleeding, along with the testimony of the paramedics who had been dispatched to the scene.

They couldn't find the woman who'd phoned in the tip and the paramedics could tell them very little. The working theory was that a cult kidnapped the Captain, tortured him and then threw him out into the street. At least one of the abductors had some medical training as it was evident the Captain had received blood transfusions before arriving at the hospital.

Nick didn't know what to think about what Renard did yesterday. The Grimm felt the new power in him. His hearing had improved, he was stronger, faster and he felt an awareness of his surroundings that he couldn't explain and didn't fully understand. The Captain had almost died -might still die- to give him these abilities. What did it mean? Why did he do it?

Nick felt the bonds, a constant tugging sensation around his arms, legs and neck. He was aware of Sean's presence in the hospital room to his left. He didn't know what that meant either.

He rubbed his eyes and turned a page, starting on a new sketch.

Slightly slanted light eyes, high cheekbones with just a hint of a smile. He worked on shadowing for a while and then on impulse added a thin band around the forehead and a cape around the shoulders. He looked at his creation and there he was looking at Nick from the paper, Prince Sean Renard.

xXx

Sean did not know where he was or how he got there. It was a forest and it wasn't in Portland.

"Hello?" He called out but his voice was lost and not even an echo returned to him.

There was no sound. No birds, no insects, no rustling leaves, nothing, just the damp darkness of a place that never knew the full light of the sun. Because there was nothing else to do Sean picked a direction and started to walk.

There was no telling how long he walked or how far. Nothing changed among the trees and everything looked the same. For all he knew he had been walking in circles.

He walked on and then something, a slight movement made him pause and look around. He saw nothing but there was a slight shift, a displacement of air like something moving very fast. He heard a gasp of fear, a woman's voice came floating to him in the air and then a man's reply that was somehow crystal clear in his ears, "I am the blood cry, the penetrating wound..."

He didn't know what it meant but it couldn't be anything good.

He crashed through the trees, running in the direction he thought the voice came from. He saw the man looming over someone on the ground and without thinking he leaped the few feet that were left and landed beside the woman, startling the man.

The man attacked without hesitation. Sean took a blow that sent him stumbling back but he didn't fall. He ducked the next blow and the next. He was about to duck the fourth one as well when he saw the dark pits that were the man's eyes. "Grimm." He muttered mostly to himself and woged. He blocked the punch and countered with a kick that made the Grimm crash to the ground.

"I see into the heart of darkness." The Grimm said climbing to his feet. "I am the cold after the flame."

Renard raised an eyebrow and just looked at him before he threw a punch that connected hard.

The Grimm lunged at Renard to knock him to the ground before making his escape into darkness of the forest.

Renard watched him go and then looked around for the woman. He found her leaning against the tree.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

She nodded and stood up. "Oh!" She jumped back in fear and Sean realized he was still woged. He returned his face to human.

"Sorry." He said. "You saw that?"

"You… You're Nick's Captain!"

"Juliette?" He asked.

"What was that on your face?" She looked at him like she was afraid he would grow horns "And that guy that attacked me, his eyes were… Wrong."

"You saw that too?" He looked around at the shadows gathering around them. "Things seem to be different here."

"We should be moving." Juliette said evenly.

Renard glanced around again. "What?"

"I don't know but, I think we should be moving." She started walking towards the trees and Sean fell into step beside her.

She glanced up at him as they walked. "Your face. Before, it looked a little like something Nick showed me in a book from his aunt's trailer."

"His aunt's trailer? You mean Marie?"

"He showed me a bunch of crazy things. I didn't believe him. He took me to his friend's house. Said he could prove it to me but then… I don't know what happened. How did I get here? What is this place?"

"I'm not sure, your mind, my mind, some limbo world." Renard shrugged. "When you deal with primal magic, especially when you mix it with a Hexenbiest's anger, you can never know what will happen."

Juliette stopped walking and turned to face Sean. "So this is my problem. We are discussing magic. We are having a conversation about magic."

Sean raised an eyebrow. "You saw me, you saw the Grimm. You're somehow here. How else would you explain it?"

"I don't know, all this… It isn't possible... It isn't real."

"Well technically you're right, this isn't real in the literal sense of the word. It's a side effect of the spells I used to try and wake you or maybe of Adalind's spell." Sean turned away from her and continued walking in the same direction. "I really don't know." He continued softly, "I'm afraid my education in all this was rather sporadic."

Juliette hurried to keep up. "And here you go again with the spells."

"Juliette I realize this is hard to accept but you will just have to deal with it because we have more pressing matters to think about."

"What pressing matters?"

"Well, that homicidal Grimm is not likely to stay away for long plus I don't know about you but I would like to wake up at some point." Of course when he did wake up, he might discover he was dead. He didn't share that with Juliette though.

xXx

In the old country Marnassier is known to be like a force of nature. He comes, he does what he came for and he leaves. The mere whisper of his name is enough to cause powerful men to hide away in fear. In the old country all the Mauvais Dentes has to do is show up.

Here however in this 'Land of the Free' no one knew his name. No one knew to fear him or respect him.

He hated America, he hated Portland and he hated this assignment.

Yes, he had failed his last mission, to track down a certain Grimm who was said to possess the coins of Zakynthos and he understood this was his punishment but reduced to being an errand boy to a Harry Potter wannabe?

He was an honored member of the Reapers. He had killed two Grimms and presented their heads to the King himself. And now? There was a Grimm in Portland, there was a Prince who was quite possibly scheming against the Family.

Was he tasked with taking the Grimm's head? With scaring the wayward Prince back in line? No. His task was as Sebastian so eloquently put it; 'Babysit the Zauberbiest, make sure he returns with news worthy of the Prince and if he finds no such news make sure he doesn't return'.

They knew Prince Sean was in the Hospital. Sources told Marnassier that he'd been brought in with multiple lacerations all over his body. The pattern of which fit with what Pech knew about the bleeding ritual but the Zauberbiest insisted they would learn more from the place where the ritual was conducted then from the unconscious Prince.

So barely suppressing a growl Marnassier followed Pech and his vile of liquid. The liquid started out clear but as they prowled the streets of Portland supposedly getting closer to where the spell was originally cast the liquid was changing colors. From clear to a transparent pink to a darker pink to red that was growing deeper and darker as they walked down the street. They were outside a small herb shop when the liquid turned black

"This is it," said Michael looking pleased with himself. "This is where the bleeding ritual took place."

"Are you sure?" Marnassier asked dangerously. He might be nothing but a babysitter right now but he could still enjoy Pech's fear.

"I… yes… I think so." The man stammered. Marnassier smiled to himself

Inside the shop it was crowded and dusty. There was a woman behind the counter.

"Can I help you?" Rosalie asked pleasantly.

"Yes," Marnassier said. "We are looking for someone, he was here two nights ago and he performed a certain ritual."

"Two nights ago?" The woman repeated. "I don't recall anything like that I'm afraid. Where are you getting your information?"

"From a very trustworthy source." Marnassier told her. He came closer to the counter and then woged showing the full glory of his Mauvais Dentes self. It had the expected result. The woman lost her composure and woged as well showing herself to be a Fuchsbau. "You wouldn't lie to me would you?" He asked easily.

"No…" The Fuchsbau said, "of course not."

"Then let's try again, I know there was a Prince here two nights ago and he was doing a bleeding ritual. Was it Sean Renard?"

The Fuchsbau nodded "Yes."

"Very good, now what was the ritual for?"

This time the woman hesitated. 'So she is loyal to the bastard Prince' Marnassier thought that was alright, he knew how to make people talk…

"Um… Please sir, if I may…" It was Pech trying to get the Mauvais Dentes' attention.

"What is it?" Marnassier growled

"Look," Pech said raising the little bottle. It had turned from black to a deep purple.

"What does it mean?" Marnassier was growing impatient. He wanted to get on with torturing the Fuchsbau already.

"It means there was a binding done here. A very powerful one." The man was in his element now. He turned to the woman. "The Prince bound himself to the Grimm didn't he? Than he bled for him…"

Rosalie didn't confirm but she didn't have to. A smile spread across Pech's face. "How will Prince Eric reward us if we rid him of his pesky half-brother and return with the Grimm as the Prince's sworn servant?"

"He will reward us very well." Said Marnassier forgetting about Rosalie.

"I need supplies" Michael said briskly to the Mauvais Dentes. Then looking around the shop, his smile grew.

Pech quickly gathered everything he needed. As they turned to leave Marnassier looked at the Fuchsbau still standing behind the counter. "I didn't forget you're less than cooperative behavior." He told her. "I'll be back after we are done, in the meantime…" the Mauvais Dentes leaped onto the counter and sent a vicious slam to Rosalie's head. She crashed to the floor unconscious.

xXx

It was impossible to tell time in the perpetual twilight of the forest but Sean did not think much time had elapsed as they walked in silence.

"So what is a Grimm?" Juliette asked out of the blue.

"Mmm?" Sean murmured in reply mostly to buy some time.

"You said that the man that attacked me was a Grimm. And Nick mentioned it too."

"A Grimm is a person who can see Wesen even when they don't want to be seen. As such he is able to kill them. Nick's a Grimm"

"And Wesen are all those things, Nick showed me drawings of them."

Renard nodded as they walked slowly. "Yes."

"They are all real?"

"Yes"

"Okay." She said.

Sean did not think she really believed him but seeing as they were in the middle of a forest and she had no idea how they got there, she seemed to be willing to suspend her disbelief.

Something caught his attention then and he froze. He didn't see anything but there was a sudden whoosh of air moving very fast.

It was pure instinct that made him push Juliette out of the way as they both crashed to the ground hard. Out of the corner of his eye Sean saw the glimmer of steel. He got to his feet quickly and turned to face the Grimm this time with a machete in his hand.

"Wait," Sean said to the advancing Grimm but it was of no use. The man swung his machete in a wide arc that would have chopped Sean's head off had he not ducked in time.

Fortunately he did duck and came up with a punch that completely missed it's intended target and landed instead on a tree trunk. "Ouch!" He grunted. Closing his eyes tight against the pain. His hand throbbed, he might have broken a finger or two.

A scream from Juliette forced him back to the moment. Ignoring the pain he turned around to look for the Grimm. He was slowly advancing on Juliette who had stumbled back trying to get away from the crazy man with the machete.

"Hey!" Sean called hoping to distract their attacker but he wouldn't deviate.

"I am destruction. Absolute… Alone…" The Grimm raised the machete above his head.

Renard knew he would be too late.

"Death is my gift." The Grimm said and brought the machete down into Juliette's chest.

"No!" Sean yelled desperately. He had to get to Juliet but the whole world was disintegrating. Spiralling into itself… Melting away from reality... And then there was only darkness.

xXx

Hospitals at night are creepy. The dim lighting of the halls, the nurses shuffling quietly from room to room, and the machinery that somehow got louder after sunset.

Nick shifted in his seat trying unsuccessfully to get comfortable. In the hospital bed to his right Juliette was sleeping peacefully. He still couldn't believe she had woken up so suddenly**,** just like that. She was ranting about a crazy Grimm with a knife and the Captain still being stuck there.

She'd calmed down eventually and the doctors ran about 57 different tests before declaring her healthy. She still needed to stay in the hospital a few days longer, for observation, as they put it. Nick told her what Renard had done for them; that he was not in any forest but in critical condition in this very hospital. She assured Nick over and over that she was fine. They had spent the evening together. With him trying to get her to rest while all she wanted to do was grill him about Wesen.

He finally gave up on getting comfortable and got to his feet. He glanced at his watch. Only ten o'clock. Yes, he hadn't slept in over eighteen hours but it was still early. He decided to do a walk by to see if whoever was guarding the Captain's room wanted some coffee.

He expected to see an officer outside the door but there was no one there. Nick felt the invisible rings around his hands and legs tingling, something was very wrong. He raced down the hall and arrived at the captain's room.

There was a doctor in the room who had just finished administering drops into the Captain's eyes. The doctor straightened and started muttering softly to himself. Nick had a bad feeling about this.

xXx

It started with a pinprick of light that slowly grew into the world. Sean could feel soft grass under his feet and see saplings all around. He was certain he was in the same forest as before only it was a lot younger now.

He also knew that this had nothing to do with the spells or with Juliet. This was something else, something that was trying to hold him in place. To stop him from going back to where he was needed.

He tried to move but found he had no body in this place, his body was elsewhere. He heard voices coming closer and then saw three people arriving on horseback.

There was a boy of six or seven tied to the horses and stumbling behind.

The men dismounted and unshackled the child.

Sean watched as the men fastened gold rings around the boy's feet hands and neck. They connected the gold chains to the rings and used the chains to tie the child to a tree.

The three men then built a small fire. When the fire was burning steadily they mounted their horses and rode away.

Sean, having no body at the moment could do nothing for the boy. He watched him and watched the fire burn.

The sun moved across the sky. Turning the blue into a deep orange and then setting leaving only darkness.

The fire slowly burnt down and the ambers died and grew cold.

Sean heard a rustling in the trees. He saw creatures of smoke and shadow advance on the child. The child started to scream as the creatures engulfed him completely and then it was done.

xXx

"Doctor?" Nick asked. The invisible rings had started to throb now.

The Doctor didn't turn around and didn't stop his muttering. "Doctor, I am detective Nick Burkhardt please turn around now." Nick said still not wanting to engage.

There was no response. Nick put his hand on the doctor's shoulder. The doctor looked up and Nick saw the Zauberbiest.

"Grimm!" The man who was not a doctor exclaimed and struggled to get away.

"Who are you?" Nick demanded keeping a firm hold of the man.

"You are too late!" The man said maniacally. "The bastard will never wake up now!"

"What did you do?" But all Nick got in return was a hysterical laugh.

Nick pulled his cuffs off his belt "You are under arrest." He stated and slapped the cuffs on the Zauberbiest's wrists.

"The thing is," the man said still laughing, "I am not alone."

Nick froze just in time to receive a debilitating blow to the head. He collapsed to the ground.

xXx

Sean watched on helplessly as the child lay against the tree suspended by the golden shackles.

The night was cold, dark and completely still. No shadow figures lingered anywhere.

Time passed and Sean wondered if he would ever get out of this place, then he heard horses and the three men returned. They untied the child from the tree and let him drop to the ground. He lied there for a minute with his face in the dirt. The men stood around the child in a small semi-circle, waiting until the boy raised his head. He was looking directly at Sean.

Sean was expecting this. Suddenly it was clear to him that he had always known. Who those men were, what the boy and that Grimm in the forest were. The boy looked at Sean and his eyes were black and empty and Sean fell into the endless darkness that were the eyes of the first Grimm.

xXx

Everything was black aside for a burning flame at the back of Sean's mind. It was growing hotter, burning brighter turning into a white hot beacon that pulled at Sean's consciousness. He opened his own eyes and sat up disoriented. His head was pounding and he didn't know where he was.

He looked around, slowly regaining his bearings. There was noise but Sean couldn't make any sense of it. There were two people locked in a struggle a few feet away. One was a stranger, the other was… Someone important.

The stranger threw a punch and it connected hard with his target.

"Nick!" the name came to his mind and out his mouth simultaneously. No one seemed to notice though.

Nick stumbled back but quickly shook off the pain and retaliated with a kick and a double punch to the gut. The stranger barely flinched at the onslaught and attacked again. Within seconds the stranger had Nick in a choke hold. He woged and Sean saw that he was a Mauvais Dentes and was slowly bending down for the kill.

"No!" Sean yelled. He concentrated and a heavy vase flew through the air and crashed onto the Mauvais Dentes's head.

Nick utilized the distraction to break free, and slide across the floor to where his gun fell during the fight. He leveled the gun at the creature.

"You are under arrest!" He said but the Mauvais Dentes was not going to surrender. He charged and Nick fired the gun.

The Mauvais Dentes fell to the ground. He looked human now and very much dead.

Nick looked around for whoever had helped him; all he saw was his Captain, now awake in his hospital bed. He limped over, sore from the fight.

Sean looked up at his Grimm. "Are you alright?" He asked.

"Me?" Nick scuffed. "I'm not the one who almost killed himself..."

Sean was too weak to explain, so he just shrugged and closed his eyes letting the Grimm read into that what he may.

**The End**

_**For now…**_


End file.
